Delara Darabi
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Delara Darabi (Persian: دلارا دارابى) born September 29, 1986, is an Iranian girl at the risk of imminent execution for a murder which took place when she was 17 years old. She denies committing the crime. Iran is a state party to international treaties that expressly prohibit the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by those under the age of 18.
According to Delara the murder of her father's female cousin was committed by the 19 year old boyfriend that she was in love with. Delara Darabi initially confessed to the murder, but soon retracted her confession. She claims that Amir Hossein asked her to admit responsibility for the murder to protect him from execution, believing that as she was under the age of 18, she could not be sentenced to death.
Delara Darabi was sentenced to death by a lower court in the northern city of Rasht. The sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court. She maintains her innocence, and has claimed that she was under the influence of sedatives during the burglary. At this stage the Head of the Judiciary has the power to order a stay of execution and a review of the case. Amir Hossein has reportedly received a prison sentence of 10 years for his involvement in the crime.[1][2][3]
Amnesty International has made several public statements about Delara.[4][5][6][7][8]
Delara is a talented painter artist and poet. She has used her paintings and poems to express her feelings. Last year there was an exhibition of her paintings in Tehran and a similar exhibition was held in Stockholm in April 2007.[9][10] [1][2][3][4].
According to the Iranian Etemaad newspaper[citation needed]her death sentence has been confirmed by the Iranian Supreme Court and her execution may be imminent. Her attorney is intending to appeal the verdict. In January 20, 2007 Delara attempted suicide by cutting her wrists, however her cell-mate noticed the incident and called for help. Delara's was rushed to the hospital, where she was revived. Delara's physical and emotional health is still unstable.[11][12]
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[edit] Petitions for clemency
Amnesty International has arranged for letters to be sent to Iranian authorities for Delara Darabi [5]. Delara Darabi's name is also the first on the Stop Child Executions Campaign petition.
A similar petition was made for another Iranian minor, Nazanin Fatehi who also was facing execution. However After more than 350,000 signatures and worldwide attention she was found innocent and freed from prison in January 31, 2007.[13].
[edit] Personal information
She was born in city of Rasht (Province of Gilan), where she was a high-school student before her arrest. She has three sisters: Elaheh (21-year old), Ghazale (19) and Sheida (8). Elaheh and Ghazale are college students.
Her sisters were also born in Rasht.
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Background Information
As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Iran has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under the age of 18.
Nevertheless, since 1990, Iran has executed at least 18 people for crimes committed when they were children. In 2005 alone, despite being urged in January by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to suspend the practice immediately, at least eight child offenders were executed, including two who were still under 18 at the time of their execution. The last recorded execution of a child offender, Rostam Tajik, was on 10 December 2005 - ironically, the day which the UN has marked annually as Human Rights Day (see UA 306/05, MDE 13/075/2005, 06 December 2005, and follow-up).
On 9 December, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston stated : "At a time when virtually every other country in the world has firmly and clearly renounced the execution of people for crimes they committed as children, the Iranian approach is particularly unacceptable … It is all the more surprising because the obligation to refrain from such executions is not only clear and incontrovertible, but the Government of Iran has itself stated that it will cease this practice."
For the last four years, Iran has been considering legislation to prohibit this practice, but despite this, over the past two years the number of child offenders executed has increased. Recent comments by a judiciary spokesperson suggest that the new law would in any case only prohibit the death penalty for certain crimes when committed by children.
[edit] Recent News
According to Delara Darabi's attorney , Iran's appeal review judges after a quick review have verified Delara Darabi's death sentence and her file is transferred to Iran's head of judiciary for final decision. Based on latest reports Delara Darabi is not in good emotional state. Delara's final appeal has already been filed with Iran's head of judiciary. [10][11]
[edit] See also
- Stop Child Executions Campaign
- Reza Alinejad
- Nazanin Fatehi
- Atefeh Rajabi
- Mosleh Zamani
- Human rights in Iran
- Atefeh Sahaaleh
[edit] References
- ^ Amnesty International worldwide appeal for Delara Darabi March 2007
- ^ Stop Child Executions Campaign about Delara Darabi
- ^ News and updates about Delara Darabi
- ^ Amnesty International Report Jan 2006
- ^ Amnesty International Report Feb 2006
- ^ Amnesty International Report Aug 2006
- ^ Amnesty International Report Jan 2007
- ^ Amnesty International Report Apr 2007
- ^ Delara Darabi paintings presentation
- ^ Delara Darabi Photos and paintings
- ^ Delara's Suicide news in English
- ^ Delara's suicide news in Persian Etemaad newspaper 2007
- ^ www.helpnazanin.com
